What Would Bring The Watchtower Down? (page 2)

wannabefree

This generation will see the end of The Watchtower.

All that it would take is for JWs to suddenly, collectively, close their wallets. Essentially this would test the statement by CT Russell that if the work continues when the money dries up, then it demonstrates that it has god's direction.

Since it doesn't have god's direction (and never did because god is a fallacy) it will shrivel up and die faster than a slug doused in salt.

Mad Sweeney

"Bringing the WT down" doesn't necessarily mean "The WT corporation goes out of business and closes."

To me, bringing the WT down means negative growth, financial struggles, and public humiliation/marginalization of the organization.

It will happen within this generation, as wannabefree said. It's close already.

metatron

Think about it - suppose the whole preaching work turns into a net 'loss leader' - what do they do then? Do they just keep selling off real estate and fund the preaching work with capital like a sinking fund?

Suppose they go to a local elder/ CO structure - how do they crack the whip?

If they start to berate their oldest, most loyal supporters like King Rehoboam, what happens then?

I say Scully is right. If they lose money on the whole thing, they might retire to Paterson and print a few tracts once in awhile and that's that.

metatron

Honesty

What Would Bring The Watchtower Down?

Let the Governing Body run out of DEPENDS and Bibs.

jookbeard

agree with Mad Sweeny and Wobble,one single event wont bring down The WTS they will exist for a few more decades, they will just hemorrhage far more members various governments will make things harder for them, the Billboard work in Brazil is a fabulous achievement

Marvin Shilmer

I usually avoid this subject because, for the most part, I consider it a waste of time.

Religion is a social phenomenon born out of a desire of humans to express and assert their fears and perceived remedies, and resulting teleological world views. Individual expression of fear and remedial conviction is worship. An organized imposition of a set of fears and remedy is religion. Watchtower is a religion.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are the people subject to the Watchtower religion. Some of these people embrace the religion and others have it imposed on them.

By comparison Watchtower is, as a religion, an infant in arms; it was birthed less than 7 score ago, and some would argue less. Like all other religions it will modify according to the fears and perceived remedies of those who make it up.

At what point a modification is perceived as collapse varies from person to person. Arguably Watchtower as a religion has collapsed several times or not at all, depending on who answers the question.

In the 1920s Watchtower experienced a greater than 80 percent decline in the numbers associating with it. Was this a collapse? Some say it was and other say it was not. If Watchtower today suffered a similar decline in the numbers attending the annual memorial event, would that evidence a collapse? My guess is that those who remain would argue the decline was God’s will because, after all, only a “few” are on the road leading to life whereas the majority is on the road leading to destruction. Those who left would herald the event as a collapse. Outsiders would say there was an 80 percent collapse, which would be the most objective perspective.

I do not see Watchtower as a religion ceasing to exist. But my own view is that, as a religious infant in arms, for sociological reasons it is unavoidable that Watchtower will continue experiencing serious modifications for a long time to come. Whether a future Watchtower religion will be recognizable as a previous Watchtower religion will depend on how great is the change and whether that change occurs within shouting distance of. If it is unrecognizable then probably the consensus view would be that it collapsed, but the “faithful” will still view it differently.

Today’s Watchtower religion bears little if any resemblance to the Watchtower religion of the 19 th Century and early 20 th Century. From that perspective the former Watchtower religion has collapsed. This will occur over and over again until, as a religion, Watchtower achieves a much greater maturity as a social phenomenon.

Marvin Shilmer

marvinshilmer.blogspot.com

Mad Sweeney

I would love to see some billboard work done in the USA, Canada, and the UK, which seem to be the three main financial players in the Borg. I'd donate to that work.

mamalove

The only thing that I think will put a big dent in the JW's is a sustained, substantial amount of bad press. A big scandal, something that gets notice worldwide or is so interesting that it stays on the minds of people, and so the members are so uncomfortable being associated with it, that they fade out.

Soldier77

Mad Sweeney, I'd also donate.

What Would Bring The Watchtower Down?

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